Experts Expound

Experts Expound

“Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom says he only spends one or two days a week in Sacramento, and the rest of the time he’s doing other things — including his new TV talk show in SF. Is there a political downside for him in this?”

Out of sight is out of mind. If he has aspirations to spend more time here in his future, now is the time to make friends.

California is a big state and Sacramento is a small slice, in perspective and in geography. So long as he is working for the betterment of our state, who cares where he is. If I lived in Marin,I’d rather be there too.

Not as long as he’s making kissy-face with the members of the local Democratic Central committees.

Newsom has to be careful he doesn’t minimize and denigrate the job of lieutenant governor so much that he can’t use it as a credential if he runs for governor again. He already had a history before he ran for LG of mocking the office.

As Lt. Governor, I’m surprised he can find things to do in Sacramento even “a day or two” a week. Staying away lessens the contamination he would suffer being at the state Capitol. Now, if a whale got lost and swam up the river to Sacramento, he might miss a media opportunity…oh wait, that was Garamendi.

What’s the downside? He looks good, he’s comfortable on TV and he’s got a pulpit to build on. His problem is that nobody sees the show, and those who do probably don’t see him as a potential senator or governor.

There is no downside for Newsom. If he doesn’t do this he disappears into obscurity. He needs to be appointed to the US Senate in a few years.

Just the opposite. He is smart to avoid Sacramento. California voters don’t like the place.

There is no downside for Newsom to spend his time preening in front of a TV studio camera instead of the job to which he was elected. For one thing, he is a liberal Democrat hipster popular with a like-minded Capitol Press Corps. The possibility of negative coverage or an editorial broadside is so laughably remote as to not be worth mentioning. Second, few Californians even know who Newsom is and the few that do know refer to him as “Kimberly Guilfoyle’s ex-husband.”

Newsom’s problem for higher office is that the Dems have a powerful field – Harris, Chiang, even Lockyer and Jones. A TV show won’t help that much, but with his smarts and looks he could turn it into something.

Why can’t he be a TV show talk host? It’s not like his duties consume his time 24/7.

It’s ridiculous. Why should a sitting politician with public responsibilities take time on the public dime to do TV? Next he’ll be on dancing with the stars.

Well, it certainly leaves plenty of time for him to fool around with staffer’s wives. If he really wanted to make a point, he could return half his salary since he’s working less than half time. As it is, California taxpayers are paying him for than $100,000 a year to build name ID so he can run for higher office.

The lite gov doesn’t have to be in Sacramento to do whatever it is the job might be. Newsom really isn’t interested in being lite gov, however, and it shows. He’s virtually invisible in Sacramento, much more so than other lite govs such as John Garamendi, Leo McCarthy — even Abel Maldonado. They at least made an effort to have a profile as lieutenant governor.

No downside whatsoever. The Lt. Gov. has no newsworthy functions save for rare controversies on the UC Regents or State Lands Commission, or a tie vote in the Senate every 20 years or so. So he might as well be seeking attention elsewhere.